#SaveMarinaJoyce: Sharing Gratitude — And A Lesson — With The Fans Of Marina Joyce

Just recently, I found myself sharing one of life’s most inconvenient truths with a friend who was going through some relationship troubles.

“Sometimes,” I stated, “we get so lost in our worlds that we forget to check in on others.”

In the curious case of Marina Joyce, the YouTube beauty vlogger who made headlines this week for reasons that are still up in the air (some of thembeing noted here on the Inquisitr), that line of reasoning couldn’t be more true. When no one listened to the few who requested assistance in uncovering what was going on with the English internet celebrity, they joined forces to create the hashtag, #SaveMarinaJoyce, which took over Twitter like Godzilla in a random Japanese city. It was massive, it was loud, and it somewhat achieved results. On Thursday, Marina herself took to several media outlets, including her own Twitter profile, to let people know that she was (mostly) A-OK.

“It is incredible what people have done,” the 19-year-old told the Sun. “I now know that if I’m ever really in trouble or in danger, then my YouTube viewers will be there for me.”

Allow me to expand on her gratitude for a moment: Thank you, everyone. Thank you all for reminding me that even in today’s crazy world, people still do care about one another. Thank you for using your power, your voices, your tweets, and your love to notify law enforcement and the media about the very odd #SaveMarinaJoyce plight. You should all be extremely proud of yourselves, and you have done a great service not just for one person, but for humanity as a whole.

Unfortunately, while I strongly wish I could end this on such a positive note, there’s something else that now must be addressed.

Following Marina’s vague interview with fellow YouTube personality Philip DeFranco Wednesday night, it seems that many of you have taken it upon yourselves to openly contest her choice not to divulge the full truth on the #SaveMarinaJoyce matter. Early Thursday, DeFranco took to his Twitter to implore still-curious followers of Joyce to take a step back from attacking the still-fragile English personality.

“I [do] feel for this girl,” he admitted, ” [but] I also don’t know what it must be like to have this much attention at such a vulnerable moment [in her life]. It needs to be understood that [Marina] didn’t start the [#SaveMarinaJoyce hashtag]. Her audience started this, and then, it blew up [into] this thing that no one’s ever seen before.”

The thing is, I’m not surprised at this development. To revisit the analogy I used a few lines ago, once the monster is set loose, it’s hard to tame. For better or for worse, Marina Joyce’s onlookers have grown exponentially over the past few days, and they’re not really looking at her to learn about her beauty secrets. Even the ones who were in her corner solely for that reason before this debacle now have a new reason for sticking with her — they want to know what she’s really going through, and furthermore, they feel like they’re obligated to such knowledge.

Except, they’re not. No one is, not even out of the deepest level of concern for Marina. Here is another inconvenient truth that most will find difficult to accept: sometimes, you have to let people live their lives, no matter how they choose to live them. One cannot be a hero to a person who claims that nothing is wrong, and Marina has vehemently and repeatedly stated that she is fine. Whether or not that’s actually true is not up for anyone else to figure out.

Keep in mind that for all the hubbub, whether positively or negatively born, Marina Joyce is 19-years-old, which makes her an adult. As an adult, she has the right to live any way that she wants, as long as it does not cause harm to another person. If she says that her personality change comes from her recently becoming a Christian, then we must accept this. If she states that she is not taking drugs, then that, too, has to be accepted and respected as her truth. Only she knows what is going on with her life, and it is only up to her to get help for that life, should she choose to (if there’s even anything wrong, that is).

Is there something deeper going on with Marina Joyce? Probably so, and we’d be remiss not to notice it, but there’s a difference between taking notice and taking possession. Just because she’s a public figure does not mean that she is public property. We are not now, nor have we ever been or ever will be, the masters of her destiny, her YouTube videos, or her personal relationships. The only person who can #SaveMarinaJoyce is Marina Joyce herself, and that, as Philip DeFranco said, has to be understood.

You’ve all done something bravely and greatly human in letting the world know of the possible hardships of one person. That is not being overlooked, guys, and again, we thank you for that. Now, however, it’s time to do something even braver and greater: let Marina Joyce live.